Is Africa behind in evolution? Revisiting Dr. Watson’s statement

Dr. James Watson once diagnosed our problem in Africa as evolutionary. He said that “I am inherently gloomy about the prospects of Africa. . . . There was no reason to think that races which had grown up in separate geographical locations should have evolved identically.”

The premise of Dr. Watson’s prediction is that the essence of human evolution is to organize a viable and successful society where government, freedom and opportunity is a collective experience that must thrive within the framework of law and order.

If this premise suffices, we can no longer blame racism or bigotry as the main reason behind Dr. Watson’s gloomy predictions about the future of Africa. There is convincing evidence that we Africans have failed in organizing such a society. To organize such a society there has to be a general understanding that our collective interests supersede all other personal interests. Organizing such a society also requires an across-the-board sense of right and wrong that will compel us to evaluate the impact of our actions on other members of the society.